Best of the band concert celebrates peace treaty anniversary

Here's a Father's Day gift idea for dads who appreciate band music: tickets to the June 24 Seacoast Wind Ensemble concert at The Music Hall.

Here's a Father's Day gift idea for dads who appreciate band music: tickets to the June 24 Seacoast Wind Ensemble concert at The Music Hall.

Thanks to intensive historical research in period newspapers, local library collections and musical archives throughout the country, Seacoast Wind Ensemble conductor Richard C. Spicer has assembled a collection of band music performed in Portsmouth in 1905 during the negotiations to end "World War Zero," the Russo-Japanese War. The concerts by local town bands and military bands brought to Portsmouth for the occasion helped create the atmosphere for peace that resulted in the Treaty of Portsmouth signed on Sept. 5, 1905, celebrated locally since then.

The Seacoast Wind Ensemble and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee present "Serenade for World Peace" a concert of rarely-heard band music of 1905-07 related to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and anniversary celebrations on June 24 at 3 p.m. at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St. in Portsmouth. Tickets are $15 ($8 for seniors over 65, children under 12, students with ID) and are available at The Music Hall box office, by phone at 436-2400 and online at www.themusichall.org

A performance of "The Peace of Portsmouth" by Pontine Theatre on Aug. 26 at 2 p.m. A Peace Flag Raising ceremony at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine, on Sept. 2 at 2 p.m. The annual Treaty Signing Commemoration at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at 3:47 p.m. on Sept. 5, followed by bell-ringing throughout the city. A Portsmouth Peace Treaty/Labor Day parade later in September. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty exhibit from May 26 through Oct. 31 at the John Paul Jones House Museum. The Theodore Roosevelt Nobel Peace Prize Commemoration on Dec. 10. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail is available for self-guided and Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce guided tours, year round. For more information: www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com.

Spicer began his research during the treaty centennial in 2005, in order to make the music associated with the treaty available again for performance. Various kinds of music were performed in 1905-07 including pieces related to the war, the treaty, the commemoration of peace and celebrating the crucial role of Theodore Roosevelt, who became the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts. Several programs featured this music at 100th anniversary events, including Portsmouth Peace Treaty Concerts, re-enactments, and the state dinner on Sept. 5, where Spicer accompanied noted singers in dramatic vocal selections. But it was not until he was chosen in 2006 to direct the Seacoast's own popular Seacoast Wind Ensemble that the opportunity arose to focus more on music from military band concerts and other entertainments during the summer of 1905 as well as local town band and Treaty anniversary concerts in 1907. Now the Seacoast Wind Ensemble, with the support of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee, will make performances of the historical band music an annual part of the Treaty commemorations.

"We are bringing back to life the best selections from the band concerts heard during those years," said Spicer. "People should not think for a minute that this is 'historical music' retrieved from a cabinet of curiosities and dusted off only for those with academic and esoteric interests. This is a stirring program that everyone can enjoy, featuring popular favorites of the day, from familiar marches by John Philip Sousa to medleys from the latest theatrical productions, played by the Portsmouth City Band in 1905. In addition, we are including songs and marches written by composers around the country to celebrate the historic event that happened here and the role of President Roosevelt as 'Peacemaker'; these were all scored for bands, and celebrate peace achieved, which has relevance in every age. We are also excited to be using scores from the Exeter Town Band Library — a local treasure trove of historic band music from the oldest continuing town band in this state, going back to 1847."

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